I suggest a campaign about ...

Save Our Badgers!

The coalition's trial culls have been given the go-ahead, in the face of scientific evidence and public opinion.

Bovine TB is a terrible disease, but badgers are more likely to be its victims rather than its cause.

The Coalition's plans allow for "free shooting" of badgers, will result in 70% of badgers in a 150 sq km area being killed, will damage local ecosystems and - given those numbers - possibly make badgers extinct in these areas.

Even if the cull is "successful" it will only result in between a 12 and 16% reduction in Bovine TB (average scientific figures) or approx 27% (Government cherry-picked "best" scientific figure) - and there is the well-documented phenomena of perterbation, where infected badgers flee the killing grounds, thereby spreading TB to non-infected areas.

Badgers can easily catch TB from cattle. It's much harder for cattle to catch TB from badgers. So who is at fault?

the "few" badgers are posssibly to become tens of thousands - for a likely reduction of bTB by 16% - in time better biosecurity and strict testing will show a far greater bTB reduction regardless of what happens with badgers - Ireland is testing & culling where disease is present: Wales is vaccinating badgers - only England is about to launch a mass badger cull "on the cheap", regardless of age or condition (and I had heard there'd be a small "bounty" on each carcass!) Conservation? Let's not kid ourselves.

Saving the badgers is in the top 10 of most important things...just goes to show how many stupid people there are in the UK. There are far more important things to be worried about than a few badgers, yet this makes the top 10 most voted.

It's the farming methods that need addressing, not killing badgers to prevent this disease. Why has no-one thought of a homeopathic treatment?
I know, because the government is reactive and narrow minded thinking of profit only. This decision to encourage this brutal, senseless killing of these creatures by the government is as stupid as having a mastectomy (or other body parts lopped off) to 'prevent' cancer, it's nonsense and typical of the Conservative narrow mindedness which is frankly frightening and impacts on all our lives. I'm fed up with their nonsense and saddened that with such progression of human thought and spiritual enlightenment there are still people in this country whose thought processes are stuck in the realms of the neanderthal where misogyny and homophobia are still acceptable and promoted in the name of values and to be lauded. An online petition is needed to stop this, I know there have been others, but another is necessary to help limit this action. Sack the government and save the badgers as well as the planet from these self centred power and money mad bunch of hooligans!

The government has decided to go ahead with its plan to cull badgers. Even the government's own data shows its plan will be ineffective or counter productive. They are playing to their own supporters.

We can counter this by campaigning for the supermarkets to introduce a badger-friendly label for produce from farms that don't harm badgers. This will use our power as consumers to apply pressure on the supermarkets and farmers. If farmers want this label, they will have to act differently, and they are then almost certain to press their MP to seriously support the development of a vaccine.

I don't think that it has to be a question of 'badgers or people' if an expensive survey into the benefits of the cull has shown little effect will be made what is the point? The government has ignored evidence from experts who have studied badgers for years and has the foxhunting activities which had their part to play in spreading foot and mouth been looked into?

The increased movement of cattle and bad biosecurity have their part to blame in this issue. Modern dairy farming methods are so intense that cows are infested with diseases,male calves shot or sent int the veal industry abroad. Added to this inaccurate TB tests that allow transportation to facilities many miles away.

Before the 1950s badger TB was unheard of, so how can the basis of this disease be badgers fault?

I wonder if anyone here has worked on a farm affected by TB. Farming has the highest suicide rate of any industry. A lot of this is caused by farmers having their land shut down because of suspected cases of TB, the cattle still need tending and feeding, but the farm can not move any livestock and has no income for 6 months after the last case of suspected TB in the herd. This can go on for years until a family is forced out of the only home they have known (and in many cases have lived for generations), out of the only way of life they have ever known. Selective culling is the only proven way of reducing TB, cull the badgers know.

The killing of badgers in order to protect the farming industry is not acceptable.A sea change in the way we live is required ultimately. If we endorse cruelty we also endorse our own demise but for me that is not the ultimate concern. I love these creatures... no, they are NOT "cuddly" but they are part of the natural world that surrounds us and it is worth protecting.

Why can't DEFRA insist on all cattle being vaccinated against TB in the first place? This is the norm in many European countries. Badgers could also be trapped and vaccinated. Since all people now get vaccinated the problem of serious TB infection should not arise. I caught it from untreated milk after having my BCG but it didn't do any lasting harm, just gave me a nasty cough for a few weeks.

what a load of shit animals are far better than us humans and i work hard and i am in favour of goverment capping benifits actually i believe the cap is too high and before you say it im not rich im on basic wage but dont believe in someone sitting on the fat arse getting more money than the likes of me working hard and paying tax i hope the goverment campaign against the goverments weakening of enviroment laws george osbourne needs ousted

Badgers are not more important than human beings and what's being done to the poor, disabled, unemployed, students and everyone else in this country who are suffering from the policies of this disaster of a government. With a moribund and sclerotic political opposition, the con-dems are destroying this country with their absolute incompetence and heartlessness, and as much as I am against cruelty to animals, I think that it is a waste of 38degrees to use it for animal welfare when the government is destroying the welfare of the PEOPLE of this country. Sorry, but there it is.

Badger Trust still asking for signatures on 38degrees campaign petition site. I'ts growing slowly and still active for any one who reads the Badger Trust site and realises that the scientists did say badgers culling is not beneficial to controlling BTB and other methods must be used ie vaccination is a start not shooting in the head or worse still maiming and left to die if it runs off and goes to ground. This opens up all kinds of opportunities for bad practice in the dark.

MICHAEL EDDY, please address the points raised by Foxfire and Dave Spart.
As an animal lover, my knee-jerk reaction is to support your campaign, but as a practising conservationist, I understand that on occasions we must 'manage' species populations.
You must believe yourself well enough informed to initiate this campaign, so please disseminate that information (with references, of course).